Adeyinka Olaiya, Editor-at-Large, Sao Paulo/
Bittersweet memories of the Transatlantic slave trade that relocated about 300, 000 people from southern Nigeria to Brazil in the 19th century were reignited at a carnival held in Sao Paulo, last Sunday, by Ijesa descendants of the victims.
Brazilians of Ijesa descents stood out as the carnival college named after Ijesa heroes who were victims of the slave trade took to the streets of São Paulo to celebrate the Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland.
Richly dressed in traditional Yoruba/Ijesa attires, the great-grandsons and daughters of Ijesaland, Omo Obokun paid homages with songs and dances to the Da Rocha family, popularly known in Lagos, Nigeria in those days for always throwing money from upstairs to the public.
The carnival celebrated the emancipation of the Ijesa people, the Yoruba in the western part of Nigeria.
Homages were paid to the Da’ Rochas, the family that allegedly had Esan Da’ Rocha kidnapped in 1840, somewhere around Ilesa by the Portuguese at the age of 10 years and was transported to Brazil forcefully as a slave. He later got married in Salvador, Bahia and gave birth to Cândido da Rocha in Salvador, Bahia.
Esan returned to Nigeria after the abolition of the slave trade in Brazil in 1882 with the family who was at that time speaking only Ijesa dialect and Portuguese language. He later attended CMS Grammar School and became a rich man later on. He owned the Water House in Kakawa, Lagos and also the extinct Bonanza Hotel. Da’ Rocha was popular for his money splashing habit. He died in 1959.
Brazil-based Nigerian Mega-Fuji star, Tunde Chicago, sang along with the Brazilians in Ijesa dialect. Tunde, who is also from Ijebu-Ijesa expressed his gratitude to the government of Brazil for the support towards the cause of cultural heritage.
Nigerians living in Brazil, who are also of Ijesa descents, joined to celebrate with the Brazilians who claimed to have traced their origins back to Ijesaland in Osun State, Nigeria.
The super parade also exhibited representations of the deities in the Yoruba land. The popular Enu Owa and the Igbo Ose in Ilesa were represented with the symbols of Sango tagged along.
Streets in Ilesa, Ijebu-Ijesa and other places in Ijesaland were mentioned in the songs. Pounded yam and Egusi, the popular food of the Ijesa people won the culinary of the day as everybody ate happily.
The present Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran was celebrated and an open invite was made to the majesty to visit his people in Brazil.
“We are proud to represent our ancestors, we are Ujesas,” Paulinho, President of the Ijesa College told NewsmakersNG.
